Armut Interessantes Projekt, falscher Autor.
It is outrageous by the attitude with which he does this. Altmann portrays himself as a tramp freed from all civil constraints, to whom the fat philistines have to give something. When Altmann equates himself with a "real" homeless person, it becomes blatantly:
One begs because he desperately needs it. And one begs because he is paid for it. From his publisher. We are both starving. The hunger of one as well as the hunger of the other, it does not matter how it came to the biting feeling.
No, that's not the same. One person starves every day for years and suspects his life does not change. The other one knows that after a month, everything is over, if necessary, he can call someone who sends him money. That would have failed the self-experiment, but the same evening would have been a steak. Psychologically, too, there may be a difference between a really desperate supplicant and an actor / writer who has already published a book.
In Paris the begging begins. The critic of capitalism has taken a sleeping bag, a camera, a pedometer, a radio, books, a compass, a Buddha statue, cigarillos and pepper spray. With such a smorgasbord in your backpack you are loosing any legitimacy to brand other wealth features such as cars, houses and garden fences as stuffy.
Speaking of cars, I do not like them either. Basically and certainly not when hiking. But who is so stupid to wander from Paris to Berlin on state and federal roads, that is not to help. Altmann justifies this decision as follows:
Now is harvest time, every peasant would spit on the pitchfork if I trampled down his wheat. Besides, I do not know my way around the country, I do not know how to position myself exactly without GPS.
It is outrageous by the attitude with which he does this. Altmann portrays himself as a tramp freed from all civil constraints, to whom the fat philistines have to give something. The fact that most of the people he encounters does not receive advances for work that has not yet been done does not even come to mind. When Altmann equates himself with a "real" homeless person, it becomes blatantly:
One begs because he desperately needs it. And one begs because he is paid for it. From his publisher. The motives are different, the current reality is absolutely the same: we both starve. The hunger of one as well as the hunger of the other, it does not matter how it came to the biting feeling.
No, that's not the same. One person starves every day for years and suspects that his life will not change. The other one knows that after a month, everything is over and that, if necessary, he can call someone who sends him money. That would have failed the self-experiment, but the same evening he would be in a comfortable bed and could get a steak. Psychologically, too, there may be a difference between a really desperate supplicant and an actor / writer who has already published a dozen books and hopes that more hunger will lead to better stories.
The author can be credited with the fact that he apparently did not take a euro from the advance because even in Paris the begging begins. The critic of capitalism has taken a sleeping bag, a camera, a pedometer, a radio, books, a compass, a Buddha statue, cigarillos and pepper spray. With such a smorgasbord in your backpack you actually lose any legitimacy to brand other wealth features such as cars, houses and garden fences as stuffy.
Speaking of cars, I do not like them either. Basically and certainly not when hiking. But who is so stupid to wander from Paris to Berlin on state and federal roads, that is not to help. Altmann justifies this decision as follows:
Now is harvest time, every peasant would spit me on the pitchfork if I trampled down his wheat. Besides, I do not know my way around the country, I do not know how to position myself exactly without GPS.
Well, against the trampling of wheat germ there are such practical things between the fields and in the woods: paths. And for orientation there are signs, maps and people that you can ask.
In the countryside there are even fruits and fruits. But Altmann prefers to go to bakeries, butchers and cafes. Operations that do not bother him are sometimes referred to as "cow". If Altmann personally comes across as unsympathetic as in the book, I'm not surprised that he sometimes flashes.
Two aspects are nevertheless interesting in the book: One gets an impression of how different helpfulness is pronounced. Among French and Germans, among women and men, among boys and old, among yuppies in the Porsche and retirees, there are helpful and friendly people. And just the opposite. There is no such thing as a certain type. The best passages are those in which Altmann gets into conversation with people. Here, even the author is briefly sympathetic, because whenever he talks to someone who he finds interesting or impressive, but he still forgets to beg him.
I do not have the heart to pump him for money. I do not want to burden this moment of agreement between us, to give it the feeling that I am only listening and then demanding something.
Much more of these quite interesting stories of chance acquaintances could probably be harvested if you do not put people unwashed and begging in the way.
To a large extent, the book is a list of places, cafes, beggars, bread, cheese, flashes, more kilometers, rest, hunger, homeless shelter and the next day the same. It reads like unredited diary entries, such as chaff and wheat, which have not yet been separated. Altmann does not tire of pulling over materialistic philistines, but he's all about sleeping, eating, and spending money. This contradiction is not even aware of the author.
In addition, the book suffers from a credibility problem. In order to justify his supposed need for help, Altmann does not shy away from lying. Stories of family strife, survived operations, etc. The victims should be docile, but only doubt how honest the author is with us readers.
The project itself, however, I find very interesting. That's why I reloaded Germany for free: on foot and without money on the way from Harald Braun on my wish list. I hope it is better.